A ridge of high pressure continued to build over California on Wednesday, while an extensive cold front pushed wet weather into the central and eastern U.S.

The West Coast experienced dry weather on Wednesday as a high pressure system hovered over California. Patchy clouds and cool weather persisted in the Pacific Northwest, while clear, warm weather pushed into the Southwest. Cool temperatures lingered in the Sierra Nevadas early Wednesday morning as Truckee Tahoe, Calif., recorded a morning low of 15 degrees.

In the Great Basin and Intermountain West, below average temperatures persisted throughout Wednesday morning, and some areas reported light snow. West Yellowstone, Mont., recorded a morning low of 12 degrees, while Stanley, Idaho, recorded a morning low of 15 degrees.

To the east, a cold frontal boundary stretched from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley, as several regions in the central and eastern U.S. experienced wet weather. Moderate thunderstorms impacted Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and several other states in the lower Mississippi Valley, while lighter showers pushed through the Ohio Valley and Northeast. Fredericksburg, Texas, reported a midday total of 1.42 inches of rain, while Shreveport, La., reported a midday total of 1.19 inches of rain. The Southeast stayed clear of wet weather on Wednesday as high pressure provided warm, muggy conditions to the area. Kendall, Fla., recorded a midday high of 88 degrees.

ON THIS DATE....... On August 8, 1996, lightning ignited a forest fire in Oregon's Lane County east of Oakridge. Why is today significant then? Well, today in 1996, the fire was officially declared extinguished after causing $1.7 million damage.